Diabetes.co.uk co-founder appears on BBC Business Live

One in four people who join Diabetes Digital Media’s Low Carb Program put their type 2 diabetes into remission, the company’s co-founder has told the BBC.
Arjun Panesar, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Diabetes Digital Media and co-founder of Diabetes.co.uk, appeared on BBC Business Live to coincide with the launch of Diabetes Awareness Month.
Mr Panesar spoke about the Low Carb Program’s one-year health outcomes which were published earlier this year in the peer-reviewed Journal of Medical Internet Research.
Speaking live in the studio, he said: “The Low Carb Program is a digital intervention that provides patients with personalised education, support and resources so they can achieve their health goals.
“There’s around four million people with diabetes in the UK and we’ve got 375,000 people with type 2 diabetes on the platform. Published evidence goes to demonstrate that one in four people place their type 2 diabetes into remission within the first year.”
When asked whether those who sign up to the 12-week programme continue with it upon completion, he said: “The evidence that we’re providing is going to demonstrate that this is sustainable. Previously, type 2 diabetes was understood to be a chronic and progressive disease, whereas the data we’re providing is going to show that it’s not anymore. The majority of people they can put it into remission.
“We’re seeing a tremendous amount of people with a number of long-term health conditions coming to the platform and so the data we’re collecting is really helping to push the academic envelope and help everyone understand how nutrition or lifestyle medicine can affect metabolic health.”
During the interview, Mr Panesar explained he had the idea of launching the Diabetes Forum after his grandfather was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes following a heart bypass.
“Food and nutrition has always been a concern for people with diabetes and it was exactly the same for my grandfather. He wasn’t sure what to eat either. It was around the same time Twitter and Facebook were coming out to the UK as well, so we launched the world’s first diabetes support forum.
“Now, when people search on Google for diabetes information they will find us. Diabetes.co.uk is really just one strand. We provide a number of digital health solutions that are for people with diabetes, that are slightly different to other diabetes sites.”
The interview is available on the BBC iPlayer for the next 29 days.